After a long pilot period, T-Mobile is making its 5G internet service a reality today. The company made the announcement today on a live stream, which was teased as the next Uncarrier move, and according to them, 30 million homes are now eligible for the service, of which 10 million are in rural areas.
The service costs $ 60 per month, or $ 65 without auto-payment, which is $ 10 more per month than when the pilot program was introduced. The service includes no data charges, hardware rental fees or annual contracts, and customers install their own equipment. T-Mobile says that most customers will experience a speed of 100 Mbps, and that all customers are eligible for an average speed of 50 Mbps. Depending on the coverage in your area, it will use a 4G or 5G signal, the fastest.
But there is an important caveat: home internet customers are subject to data delays during times of network congestion, which can be a serious deterrent for some customers living in dense areas.
T-Mobile’s talk about 5G home internet dates back to 2019, when the company addressed its case to the Federal Communications Commission as to why Sprint should be allowed. It claims that gaining access to Sprint’s network will be a necessary step in providing high-speed wireless internet within the home. According to the company, T-Mobile will make it possible to offer an alternative to the dominant internet providers and bring faster internet to underserved rural areas.
Before the ink dried during the deal, T-Mobile started launching the service over its existing LTE network. It started small as an invitation to 50,000 households. Last month, the pilot included 100,000 households.
Testing a pilot program in certain cities is one thing; opening up the service to 5G customers across the country is another. T-Mobile is certainly confident that its network can handle it, and with good reason: the spectrum it has acquired from Sprint has given it an edge, especially compared to Verizon and AT&T. Maybe when it’s done this promise of its Sprint acquisition talks, it could work on its promise to help Dish become the fourth wireless service provider we miss.